1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for the application of a surgical mesh. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for anchoring a hernia mesh during minimally invasive surgery.
2. Description of Related Art
A hernia is a protrusion of a tissue, structure, or part of an organ through injured muscle tissue or an injured membrane by which the tissue, structure, or organ is normally contained. Some examples of hernias include: abdominal hernias, diaphragmatic hernias and hiatal hernias (for example, para-esophageal hernia of the stomach), pelvic hernias, for example, obturator hernia, anal hernias, hernias of the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral discs, intracranial hernias, and Spigelian hernias.
Hernias may be surgically repaired, and are principally repaired by pushing back, or “reducing”, the herniated tissue, and then reinforcing the defect in injured muscle tissue (an operation called herniorrhaphy). Modern muscle reinforcement techniques involve placement of an implant, such as a surgical mesh, near the injured tissue or defect to support the defect. The implant is either placed over the defect (anterior repair) or more often under the defect (posterior repair).
A variety of different fixation devices are used to anchor the implant into the tissue. For example, a needled suture may be passed through or around the tissue near the defect to hold the implant in a position which spans the injured tissue. In other examples, staples, tacks, clips and pins are also known to be passed through or around the tissue near the defect to anchor the implant in a position which spans the injured tissue. Although such methods have been proven effective in anchoring the implant into the tissue, penetration of the tissue by such devices may inflict addition trauma to the defect or the tissue near the defect and requires additional time for healing of the tissue.